WASHINGTON: The White House wants to recruit organised crime and drug-dealing gangs to form the new Gaza police force, the Telegraph reported.
Donald Trump’s administration has presented plans for a new security force heavily staffed by members of existing anti-Hamas armed militias, according to multiple Western officials.
Israel, which is understood to back the United States’ proposals, has armed and actively supported some of the clans since the Gaza war began with the Oct 7, 2023 attacks.
However, the notion of using some of their members to form part of a US-backed peace force has triggered “pushback” from senior American commanders.
The armed clans in Gaza, which are formed along family lines, have documented links to organised crime going back decades. Civilians in the enclave deeply mistrust them. In recent months, the clans have been accused of looting aid trucks as well as committing murders and carrying out kidnappings.
At least two of the major clan groups include members who have either actively fought alongside Islamic State or declared allegiance to the terrorist organisation.
